Method for transmitting signal in multiple node system

ABSTRACT

Provided is a signal transmission method of a multi-node system employing a plurality of nodes and a base station that can control each of the plurality of nodes. The method includes: transmitting per-node transmission information to a user equipment; transmitting at least one stream to the user equipment by applying a precoding matrix determined for each node in at least one node among the plurality of nodes; and receiving per-node feedback information from the user equipment, wherein the per-node feedback information includes information on a precoding matrix applicable to a node which transmits the at least one stream.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the National Phase of PCT/KR2011/007885 filed onOct. 21, 2011, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/405,220 filed on Oct. 21, 2010, all ofwhich are hereby expressly incorporated by reference into the presentapplication.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to wireless communications, and moreparticularly, to a method and apparatus for transmitting a signal in amulti-node system.

BACKGROUND ART

A data transfer amount of a wireless network has been rapidly increasedin recent years. It is because various devices, e.g., a smart phone, atablet personal computer (PC), or the like, that requiremachine-to-machine (M2M) communication and a high data transfer amounthave been introduced and distributed. To satisfy the required high datatransfer amount, a carrier aggregation (CA) technique, a cognitive radio(CR) technique, or the like for effectively using more frequency bandsand a multiple antenna technique, a multiple base station cooperationtechnique, or the like for increasing data capacity within a limitedfrequency have recently drawn attention.

In addition, the wireless network has been evolved in a direction ofincreasing density of nodes capable of accessing to an area around auser. Herein, the node implies an antenna (or antenna group) which isseparated from a distributed antenna system (DAS) by more than a certaindistance. However, the node is not limited to this definition, and thuscan also be used in a broader sense. That is, the node may be apico-cell eNB (PeNB), a home eNB (HeNB), a remote radio head (RRH), aremote radio unit (RRU), a relay, a distributed antenna (group), etc. Awireless communication system having nodes with higher density canprovide higher system performance through cooperation between the nodes.That is, better system performance can be achieved when one base stationcontroller manages transmission and reception of respective nodes andthus the nodes operate as if they are antennas or an antenna group forone cell, in comparison with a case where the respective nodes operateas an independent base station (BS), advanced BS (ABS), Node-B (NB),eNode-B (eNB), access point (AP), etc., and thus do not cooperate witheach other. Hereinafter, a wireless communication system including aplurality of nodes is referred to as a multi-node system.

Such a multi-node system has a greater number of transmit (Tx) antennasin comparison with the conventional wireless communication system, andcan have various Tx antenna configurations in each node. Therefore, whentransmitting a signal according to the conventional multi-inputmulti-output (MIMO) precoding scheme, the number of MIMO precodingmatrices which must be predetermined may be excessively increased. Inaddition, when transmitting a stream with a different rank in each node,there is a limitation in a MIMO precoding matrix.

Accordingly, there is a need for a signal transmission method for MIMOtransmission in a multi-node system.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

The present invention provides a signal transmission method andapparatus in a multi-node system.

Technical Solution

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided asignal transmission method of a multi-node system employing a pluralityof nodes and a base station that can be controlled by being connectedwith each of the plurality of nodes. The method includes: transmittingper-node transmission information to a user equipment; transmitting atleast one stream to the user equipment by applying a precoding matrixdetermined for each node in at least one node among the plurality ofnodes; and receiving per-node feedback information from the userequipment, wherein the per-node feedback information includesinformation on a precoding matrix applicable to a node which transmitsthe at least one stream.

In the aforementioned aspect of the present invention, the per-nodetransmission information may include rank information of the node whichtransmits the at least one stream.

In addition, the per-node transmission information may further includethe number of transmit antennas of the node which transmits the at leastone stream, and mapping information between the at least one stream andthe at least one node.

In addition, the information on the precoding matrix may include anindex indicating a matrix included in a predetermined codebook.

In addition, in matrices included in the codebook, the number of rows orcolumns may be equal to a rank of the node which transmits the at leastone stream, and the number of columns or rows corresponding to the rowsor columns may be equal to the number of transmit antennas of the nodewhich transmits the at least one stream.

In addition, the per-node feedback information may further include rankinformation for each node preferred by the user equipment.

In addition, the per-node feedback information may further include aper-node channel quality indictor (CQI).

In addition, the per-node CQI may indicate a modulation and codingscheme for each of the at least one node.

In addition, the per-node feedback information may further include a CQIcompensation value, and the CQI compensation value may indicate a CQIdifference when there is a change in the at least one node.

In addition, the CQI compensation value may be transmitted with apredetermined period.

In addition, the method may further include transmitting at least onestream to the user equipment by applying the precoding matrix determinedbased on the per-node feedback information in the at least one node.

In addition, each of the at least one node may transmit only one stream.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda signal transmission method of a user equipment in multi-node systememploying a plurality of nodes and a base station that can be controlledby being connected with each of the plurality of nodes. The methodincludes: receiving per-node transmission information; receiving atleast one stream to which a precoding matrix, which is determined foreach node, is applied in at least one node among the plurality of nodes;and transmitting per-node feedback information, wherein the per-nodefeedback information includes information on a precoding matrixapplicable to a node which transmits the at least one stream.

In addition, the per-node transmission information may further includethe number of transmit antennas of the node which transmits the at leastone stream, and mapping information between the at least one stream andthe at least one node.

In addition, the information on the precoding matrix may include anindex indicating a matrix included in a predetermined codebook.

In addition, in matrices included in the codebook, the number of rowsmay be equal to a rank of the node which transmits the at least onestream, and the number of columns may be equal to the number of transmitantennas of the node which transmits the at least one stream.

In addition, the per-node feedback information may further include rankinformation for each node preferred by the user equipment.

In addition, the per-node feedback information may further include aper-node CQI.

In addition, the per-node CQI may indicate a modulation and codingscheme for each of the at least one node.

In addition, the per-node feedback information may further include a CQIcompensation value, and the CQI compensation value may indicate a CQIdifference when there is a change in the at least one node.

In addition, the CQI compensation value may be transmitted with apredetermined period.

Advantageous Effects

The number of multi-input multi-output (MIMO) precoding matrices whichmust be predetermined is decreased by applying a MIMO precoding matrixto each of a plurality of nodes in a multi-node system. Since theconventional MIMO precoding matrix can be reused in the multi-nodesystem, backward compatibility can be increased. In addition, systemefficiency can be increased since an optimal rank to be applied to eachnode can be applied by using per-node feedback information in themulti-node system.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a multi-node system.

FIG. 2 shows a radio access structure of the conventional wirelesscommunication system.

FIG. 3 shows a radio access structure of a wireless communication systemto which the concept of a base transceiver system (BTS) hotel isapplied.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an exemplary structure of atransmitter included in a centralized antenna system.

FIG. 5 shows a signal transmission system according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a method of performing communication in a multi-node systemusing a structure of a signal transmission system of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 shows a signal transmission system according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a signalling process between a base station and a userequipment when a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) precoding matrixincludes a per-node power factor.

FIG. 9 shows a signalling process in a multi-node system according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows a signal transmission system according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

MODE FOR INVENTION

The technology described below can be used in various multiple accessschemes such as code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency divisionmultiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), orthogonalfrequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single carrier frequencydivision multiple access (SC-FDMA), etc. The CDMA can be implementedwith a radio technology such as universal terrestrial radio access(UTRA) or CDMA2000. The TDMA can be implemented with a radio technologysuch as global system for mobile communications (GSM)/general packetradio service (GPRS)/enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE). TheOFDMA can be implemented with a radio technology such as institute ofelectrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16(WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), etc. The UTRA is a part ofa universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS). 3^(rd) partnershipproject (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) is a part of an evolved UMTS(E-UMTS) using the E-UTRA. The 3GPP LTE uses the OFDMA in a downlink anduses the SC-FDMA in an uplink. LTE-advance (LTE-A) is evolved from theLTE. The IEEE 802.11m is evolved from the IEEE 802.16e.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a multi-node system.

Referring to FIG. 1, the multi-node system includes a base station (BS)and a plurality of nodes.

The BS provides a communication service to a specific geographicalregion. The BS is generally a fixed station that communicates with auser equipment (UE) and may be referred to as another terminology, suchas an evolved Node-B (eNB), a base transceiver system (BTS), an advancedbase station (ABS), etc.

A distributed antenna is shown in FIG. 1 as an example of a node, and inthis sense, is denoted by an antenna node (AN). However, the node is notlimited to the distributed antenna, and thus may be, for example, amacro eNB antenna, a pico-cell eNB (PeNB), a home eNB (HeNB), a remoteradio head (RRH), a relay, etc. The node is also referred to as a point.

From the viewpoint of the UE, the node can be identified or indicated byusing a reference signal or a pilot signal. The reference signal (orpilot signal) is a signal known to a transmitting side and a receivingside, and implies a signal used for channel measurement, datademodulation, etc. For example, the reference signal may be a channelstatus indication reference signal (CSI-RS) defined in 3GPP LTE-A. In anLTE/LTE-A system, one CSI-RS configuration can be mapped to one node. Onthe basis of the CSI-RS configuration, the UE can identify or indicate anode and can obtain channel state information on the node. Byconsidering this, the node or the point can be replaced with the CSI-RSconfiguration in the present invention described below. The CSI-RSconfiguration may include information regarding the number of antennaports, a resource element (RE) in use, a transmission period, an offsetof a transmission time, etc.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the AN is connected to the BS in awired/wireless fashion. Each AN may consist of one antenna or an antennagroup (i.e., a plurality of antennas). Antennas belonging to one AN maybe geographically located within several meters and show the samefeature. In the multi-node system, the AN serves as an access point (AP)to which the UE can access.

In a case where the node consists of antennas in the multi-node systemas described above, it may be called a distributed antenna system (DAS).That is, the DAS is a system in which antennas (i.e., nodes) aredeployed in various positions in a geographically distributed manner,and these antennas are managed by the BS. The DAS is different from aconventional centralized antenna system (CAS) in which antennas of theBS are centralized in a cell center.

If the antennas are deployed in a geographically distributed manner, itmay imply that, if one receiver receives the same signal from antennas,the antennas are deployed such that a channel state difference betweeneach antenna and the receiver is greater than or equal to a specificvalue. If the antennas are deployed in a centralized manner, it mayimply that the antennas are deployed in a localized manner such that achannel state difference between each antenna and one receiver is lessthan a specific value. The specific value can be determined variouslyaccording to a frequency, service type, etc., used by the antennas.

FIG. 2 shows a radio access structure of the conventional wirelesscommunication system.

Referring to FIG. 2, the conventional wireless communication system maybe a cellular system. In the cellular system, a BS controls threesectors (e.g., 201, 202, and 203) constituting a cell. Each BS isconnected to a base station controller/radio network controller(BSC/RNC, hereinafter, collectively called a BSC) via a backbone network204. In the conventional wireless communication system, each BS isdeployed in a cell controlled by itself in general.

FIG. 3 shows a radio access structure of a wireless communication systemto which the concept of a base transceiver system (BTS) hotel isapplied.

Referring to FIG. 3, each of BTSs can be connected with ANs deployed ina distributed manner in cells, through an optical fiber etc., and therespective BTSs are installed in a specific region in a localized mannerinstead of being deployed in cells managed by the BTSs. When a pluralityof BTSs which manage such distributed cells are deployed and managed bygrouping the BTSs in a specific region, it is called a BTS hotel. Inconcept, the BTS hotel has an advantage in that costs for a land, abuilding, etc., in which the BTS is installed can be decreased, andcosts of maintenance/management/repair can be decreased. In addition,the BTSs and the BSC/RNC can be installed in one place all together toincrease backhaul capacity. The concept of the BTS hotel can be appliedto a distributed antenna system.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an exemplary structure of atransmitter included in a centralized antenna system.

Referring to FIG. 4, a transmitter 1500 may include modulation mappers1510-1, . . . , 1510-K, a layer mapper 1520, a layer permutator 1530,transform precoders (DFT units) 1540-1, . . . , 1540-N, a MIMO precoder1550, resource element mappers 1560-1, . . . , 1560-N, and signalgenerators 1570-1, . . . , 1570-N.

The modulation mappers 1510-1, . . . , 1510-K receive a codeword and mapthe codeword to a modulation symbol that expresses a location on asignal constellation. Herein, the codeword implies coded data obtainedby performing encoding according to a predetermined coding scheme.Although not shown, the codeword may be input to the modulation mappers1510-1, . . . , 1510-K after being subjected to scrambling. A codeword qcan be expressed by Equation 1 below.b ^((q))(k)=[b ^((q))(0)b ^((q))(1) . . . b ^((q))(N _(bit)^((q))−1)]  [Equation 1]

In Equation 1, q denotes a codeword index, and N_(bit) ^((q)) denotesthe number of bits of the codeword q. k has a value in the range of 0 toN_(bit) ^((q))−1.

A modulation scheme is not limited to a specific modulation scheme, andmay be an m-phase shift keying (m-PSK) or an m-quadrature amplitudemodulation (m-QAM). Examples of the m-PSK include binary PSK (BPSK),quadrature PSK (QPSK), and 8-PSK. Examples of the m-QAM include 16-QAM,64-QAM, and 256-QAM. A modulation symbol modulated by the modulationmapper has a complex value. The codeword q mapped to the symbol on thesignal constellation can be expressed by a modulation symbol sequence asexpressed by Equation 2 below.d ^((q))(i)=d ^((q))(0), . . . ,d ^((q))(M ^((q)) _(symb)−1)  [Equation2]

In Equation 2, q denotes a codeword index, and M^((q)) _(symb) denotesthe number of symbols of the codeword q.

The layer mapper 1520 receives a modulation symbol sequence (i.e.,d^((q))(i)) from the modulation mappers 1510-1, . . . , 1510-K andperforms codeword-to-layer mapping. The layer mapper can also be calleda codeword-stream mapper. A stream is the same concept as a layer inLTE/LTE-A. A modulation symbol x(i) on which the codeword-to-layermapping is performed can be expressed by Equation 3 below.x(i)=[x ⁽⁰⁾(i), . . . , x ^((v−1))(i)]^(T)  [Equation 3]

In Equation 3, ν denotes the number of layers, and i=0, 1, . . . ,M^(layer) _(symb)−1.

M^(layer) _(symb) denotes the number of modulation symbols per layer.

If the number of codewords is 1 or 2, codeword-to-layer mapping forspatial multiplexing can be performed as defined in Table 1 below.

TABLE 1 Number of Number of Codeword-to-layer mapping layers codewords i= 0, 1, . . . , M_(symb) ^(layer) − 1 1 1 x⁽⁰⁾(i) = d⁽⁰⁾(i) M_(symb)^(layer) = M_(symb) ⁽⁰⁾ 2 2 x⁽⁰⁾(i) = d⁽⁰⁾(i) M_(symb) ^(layer) =M_(symb) ⁽⁰⁾ = x⁽¹⁾(i) = d⁽¹⁾(i) M_(symb) ⁽¹⁾ 2 1 x⁽⁰⁾(i) = d⁽⁰⁾(2i)M_(symb) ^(layer) = M_(symb) ⁽⁰⁾/2 x⁽¹⁾(i) = d⁽⁰⁾(2i + 1) 3 2 x⁽⁰⁾(i) =d⁽⁰⁾(i) M_(symb) ^(layer) = M_(symb) ⁽⁰⁾ = x⁽¹⁾(i) = d⁽¹⁾(2i) M_(symb)⁽¹⁾/2 x⁽²⁾(i) = d⁽¹⁾(2i + 1) 4 2 x⁽⁰⁾(i) = d⁽⁰⁾(2i) M_(symb) ^(layer) =M_(symb) ⁽⁰⁾/2 = x⁽¹⁾(i) = d⁽⁰⁾(2i + 1) M_(symb) ⁽¹⁾/2 x⁽²⁾(i) =d⁽¹⁾(2i) x⁽³⁾(i) = d⁽¹⁾(2i + 1)

The layer permutator 1530 can perform modulation symbol levelpermutation (or interleaving) on the modulation symbol x(i) on whichcodeword-to-layer mapping is performed. Permutation may be performed ina unit of bit, in a unit of modulation order, in a unit of modulationorder×a DFT size, and in a unit of modulation order×DFT size×(the numberof SC-FDMA symbols of a slot or a subframe). When the modulation symbollevel permutation is performed, a modulation symbol y(i) to be sent toeach antenna port p is output as x(i). Herein, y(i) denotes a modulationsymbol on which the modulation symbol level permutation is performed.

That is, if the modulation symbol, i.e., x(i)=[x⁽⁰⁾(i), . . . ,x^((v−1))(i)]^(T), i=0, 1, . . . , M^(layer) _(symb)−1, on whichcodeword-to-layer mapping is performed is given as an input vector ofthe layer permutator 1530, the output vector, i.e., y(i)=[y⁽⁰⁾(i), . . ., y^((p−1))(i)]^(T), i=0, 1, . . . , M^(layer) _(symb)−1, on which themodulation symbol level permutation is performed is generated.

The transform precoders 1540-1, . . . , 1540-N receive the modulationsymbol y(i) on which the modulation symbol level permutation isperformed, and perform a DFT operation on the received symbol. The DFToperation and the permutation may be performed in two ways, i.e., (1)the DFT operation is performed after performing permutation, and (2) thepermutation is performed after performing the DFT operation.

The MIMO precoder 1550 processes an input symbol by using a MIMO schemeaccording to the multiple transmit (Tx) antennas. That is, the MIMOprecoder 1550 can perform layer-to-antenna mapping. The MIMO precoder1550 distributes an antenna-specific symbol to the resource elementmappers 1560-1, . . . , 1560-N for a path of a specific antenna.

The resource element mappers 1560-1, . . . , 1560-N allocate theantenna-specific symbol to a proper resource element, and performmultiplexing according to a user. The signal generators 1570-1, . . . ,1570-N perform an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) operation or aninverse Fourier transform (IFT) operation and thereafter perform digitalto analog conversion (DAC). The signal generators 1570-1, . . . , 1570-Nmay include an IFFT unit for performing an IFFT operation and a cyclicprefix (CP) insertion unit for inserting a CP. An analog signal outputfrom the signal generators 1570-1, . . . , 1570-N is transmitted througha physical antenna port.

As described above, in the conventional wireless communication system,the transmitter includes a layer mapper for mapping a codeword to alayer (stream) and a MIMO precoder. In general, the maximum number oftransmissible streams is the same as the number of ranks of a channelbetween a transmitter and a receiver. A codeword (or a MIMO layer inIEEE 802.16) to which the same modulation coding scheme (MCS) is appliedcan be mapped to a plurality of streams. For example, in LTE-A, up totwo codewords transmitted to one UE can be mapped to up to 4 streams. InIEEE 802.16m, one codeword transmitted to one UE can be mapped to up to8 streams (in case of IEEE 802.16m, a MIMO encoder performs mappingbetween a codeword and a stream).

After performing the mapping between the codeword and the stream, MIMOprecoding is performed to map the stream to an antenna (called anantenna port in LTE-A). The MIMO precoding primarily uses linearprecoding. Therefore, if the number of streams is denoted by N_(s) andthe number of Tx antennas (or antenna ports) is denoted by N_(t), thenthe MIMO precoding can be expressed by an N_(s)×N_(t) matrix.

However, in order to directly apply the aforementioned MIMO precoding tothe multi-node system, the total number of Tx antennas of all nodes inthe multi-node system is N_(t). Then, the UE must select and feed back aprecoding matrix index (PMI) for the N_(t) Tx antennas. The PMI providesinformation on a precoding matrix suitable for a channel incodebook-based precoding. The PMI may be a simple matrix index in acodebook.

Meanwhile, the value N_(t) may be various according to the number ofnodes included in the multi-node system and the number of Tx antennas ofeach node, and a greater number of Tx antennas can be provided incomparison with the conventional 8 Tx antennas. That is, the multi-nodesystem may have a greater number of Tx antennas than the conventionalCAS or may have a various number of Tx antennas, which results in aproblem in that the number of codebooks to be defined or the number ofMIMO precoding matrices is increased.

In addition, a feedback of a CQI is a feedback of quality of aneffective channel corresponding to each codeword, and if the multi-nodesystem uses a plurality of codewords, each codeword can be transmittedto a UE through some Tx antennas among all Tx antennas. In this case,there is a problem in that the UE cannot know to which node the some Txantennas are included. There is a need for a communication method andapparatus capable of solving this problem.

FIG. 5 shows a signal transmission system according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the signal transmission system includes acodeword-stream mapper 401, a stream-node mapper 402, and MIMO precoders403-1, . . . , 403-N. That is, the signal transmission system of FIG. 5differs from the transmitter of FIG. 3 in that the stream-node mapper402 is added between the codeword-stream mapper 401 and the MIMOprecoders 403-1, . . . , 403-N.

The codeword-stream mapper 401 maps a codeword to a stream (or layer).The stream-node mapper 402 maps the stream to each node. That is, thestream-node mapper 402 takes a role of distributing streams to aplurality of nodes. The MIMO precoders 403-1, . . . , 403-N perform MIMOprecoding at the respective nodes. The MIMO precoders 403-1, . . . ,403-N can be implemented at the respective nodes.

The stream-node mapper 402 is necessary because streams transmitted to aspecific UE or a UE group can be transmitted in a plurality ofdistributed nodes instead of being transmitted in one node. If theplurality of distributed nodes transmit the streams, a rank is increasedin a channel with respect to the UE, and a signal to noise ratio (SNR)is increased, which may result in the increase in a throughput.

The stream-node mapper 402 can be characterized as follows.

1. The total number of streams allocated to each node is greater than orequal to the number of input streams.

2. The number of streams allocated to one node is less than or equal tothe number of input streams.

3. All input streams are mapped to at least one node.

4. A steam output to one node is a subset of all input streams.

Assume that input streams input to the stream-node mapper 402 aredenoted by s=[s₁, . . . , s_(N) _(s) ]^(T), and streams output to ani^(th) node are denoted by s_(i)=[s′₁, . . . , s′_(N) _(s,i) ]^(T).Then, the input streams and the streams output to the i^(th) node can beexpressed by Equation 4 below.s _(i) =U _(i) s  [Equation 4]

In Equation 4 above, U_(i) denotes an N_(s,i)×N_(s) matrix, and each rowof U_(i) consists of any 1×N_(s) unit vector. The unit vector is avector of which only one element is 1 and the remaining elements are 0.In addition, U_(i) does not have any two rows identical to each other.Therefore, a rank of the matrix U_(i) is N_(s,i).

For example, assume that the stream-node mapper 402 maps three streamsto two nodes (i.e., a node 1 and a node 2). Then, U₁ which maps a streamto the node 1 and U₂ which maps a stream to the node 2 can be expressedby Equation 5 below.

$\begin{matrix}{{U_{1} = \begin{bmatrix}1 & 0 & 0 \\0 & 1 & 0\end{bmatrix}},{U_{2} = \begin{bmatrix}0 & 0 & 1 \\0 & 1 & 0\end{bmatrix}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 5} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

U₁ and U₂ of Equation 5 above show an example in which s₁ and s₂ aremapped to the node 1 and s₃ and s₂ are mapped to the node 2 in anorderly manner among three streams s₁, s₂, and s₃. Then, MIMO precodingsuitable for an input consisting of s₁ and s₂ is performed at the node1, and MIMO precoding suitable for an input consisting of s₃ and s₂ isperformed at the node 2. In case of applying linear precoding, MIMOprecoding can be performed by using an N_(s,i)×N_(t,i) matrix at ani^(th) node. Herein, N_(t,i) denotes the number of Tx antennas of thei^(th) node.

As described above, stream-node mapping information indicating mappingbetween a stream and a node can be expressed in a matrix. Thestream-node mapping information can be signaled by a BS to a UE or canbe fed back by the UE to the BS. For this, a mapping relation betweenthe stream and the node can be predetermined, and a signaling overheadcan be decreased by providing the stream-node mapping information in anindex format with respect to the predetermined mapping relation.

Table 2 below shows an example of indicating stream-node mappinginformation in an index format if the number of streams is 3 (i.e.,N_(s)=3) and the number of nodes is 2.

TABLE 2 Index U₁ U₂ 0 $\quad\begin{bmatrix}1 & 0 & 0 \\0 & 1 & 0\end{bmatrix}$ [0 0 1] 1 $\quad\begin{bmatrix}1 & 0 & 0 \\0 & 1 & 0\end{bmatrix}$ $\quad\begin{bmatrix}0 & 1 & 0 \\0 & 0 & 1\end{bmatrix}$ 2 $\quad\begin{bmatrix}1 & 0 & 0 \\0 & 1 & 0\end{bmatrix}$ $\quad\begin{bmatrix}1 & 0 & 0 \\0 & 0 & 1\end{bmatrix}$ 3 $\quad\begin{bmatrix}1 & 0 & 0 \\0 & 0 & 1\end{bmatrix}$ $\quad\begin{bmatrix}0 & 1 & 0 \\0 & 0 & 1\end{bmatrix}$ 4 $\quad\begin{bmatrix}1 & 0 & 0 \\0 & 1 & 0 \\0 & 0 & 1\end{bmatrix}$ [0 0 1] 5 $\quad\begin{bmatrix}1 & 0 & 0 \\0 & 1 & 0 \\0 & 0 & 1\end{bmatrix}$ $\quad\begin{bmatrix}0 & 1 & 0 \\0 & 0 & 1\end{bmatrix}$ 6 $\quad\begin{bmatrix}1 & 0 & 0 \\0 & 1 & 0 \\0 & 0 & 1\end{bmatrix}$ $\quad\begin{bmatrix}1 & 0 & 0 \\0 & 1 & 0 \\0 & 0 & 1\end{bmatrix}$ 7 $\quad\begin{bmatrix}1 & 0 & 0 \\0 & 1 & 0 \\0 & 0 & 1\end{bmatrix}$ None

In the example of Table 2 above, a node for transmitting more streams isfixed to the node 1 to decrease the number of indices. Therefore,additional signaling may be necessary to determine which node willtransmit more streams. In a first case, such signaling can be includedin information for reporting an order of a preferred node by a UE to aBS explicitly or implicitly. For example, if the UE feeds back CQI orpath loss information for each node, the preferred node can bedetermined implicitly by the CQI or path loss information.Alternatively, the UE may explicitly report the preferred node. In asecond case, such signaling can be included in control informationreported by the BS to the UE. The control information implies downlinkcontrol information (DCI), and can be transmitted through a controlchannel such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physicaldownlink shared channel (PDSCH), A-MAP, etc.

In Table 2 above, an index 7 uses only a node 1, and such an index maybe unnecessary since it is enough to decrease the number of supportednodes. However, such an index may be necessary to off one nodeinstantaneously when the number of supported nodes is fixedsemi-statically.

The stream-node mapping information may be given in a bitmap formatwithout being limited to the index format. If a system is configuredsuch that the same stream is not mapped to a plurality of nodes, abitmap format can be used to indicate a specific node to which aspecific stream is mapped, without having to use Table 2 above. Forexample, assume that three streams are mapped to two nodes. If each bitof a bitmap is 0, it may indicate mapping to a first node, and if eachbit is 1, it may indicate mapping to a second node. Then, if bitmapinformation of {011} is given to three streams, it may indicate that afirst stream is mapped to the first node, and second and third streamsare mapped to the second node.

Alternatively, stream-node mapping information may be configured in aformat of indicating an index of a stream mapped to each node. Forexample, the UE can feed back to the BS the stream-node mappinginformation indicating contents in which a stream 1 is mapped to a node1, and streams 1 and 2 are mapped to a node 2. Of course, the BS canalso transmit to the UE the aforementioned format of stream-node mappinginformation by including the information in control information.

In the multi-node system which uses the signal transmission system ofFIG. 5, the UE must feed back not only a PMI for all nodes but also aPMI for each node allocated to the UE when feeding back the PMI to theBS. By feeding back a per-node PMI, the BS can apply a MIMO precodercorresponding to a PMI for each node without having to configure acomplex codebook and MIMO precoder considering a Tx antennaconfiguration of all nodes, thereby achieving a simple and clear systemconfiguration.

FIG. 6 shows a method of performing communication in a multi-node systemusing a structure of the signal transmission system of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 6, a BS transmits first stream-node mappinginformation to a UE (step S110). A node n transmits a stream set n1 tothe UE (step S121). A node m transmits a stream set m1 to the UE (stepS122). The stream set n1 and the stream set m1 are transmitted accordingto the first stream-node mapping information.

The UE transmits preferred node information to the BS (step S130). TheBS transmits second stream-node information by determining a stream-nodemapping relation to be applied to the UE on the basis of the preferrednode information (step S140). The node n1 and the node m1 transmit thestream set n2 and the stream set m2 respectively according to the secondstream-node mapping information (steps S141 and S142).

Although the multi-node system can perform a process of mapping acodeword to a node by using a codeword-stream mapper and a stream-nodemapper, the present invention is not limited thereto. In other words,the process of mapping the codeword to the node can be performed by thecodeword-stream mapper. That is, the codeword-stream mapper may mapstreams respectively to a plurality of nodes. Then, a MIMO precoder canperform MIMO precoding by using the streams mapped to the respectivenodes.

FIG. 7 shows a signal transmission system according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 differs from FIG. 5 in that a codeword-stream mapper 701 maps aninput codeword to a stream for each node. A MIMO precoder 702 performsMIMO precoding on the stream for each node.

Assume that N_(s) streams output by the codeword-stream mapper 701 aredenoted by s=[s₁ s₂ . . . s_(N) _(s) ]^(T), and Nt outputs which aresubjected to MIMO precoding by the MIMO precoder 702 are denoted byx=[x₁ x₂ . . . x_(N) _(t) ]^(T). If the MIMO precoder 702 uses linearprecoding, a MIMO precoding matrix V can be expressed by an N_(t)×N_(s)matrix, and has a relation of x=V s.

If the number of Tx antennas of a node i is denoted by N_(t,i), anN_(t,i)×1 vector x_(i) which is transmitted at each node can beconfigured by dividing elements of x respectively into N_(t,1), N_(t,2),. . . , N_(t,N) parts. Herein, i=1, 2, . . . , N. Therefore, a relationof x=[x₁ ^(T) x₂ ^(T) . . . x_(N) ^(T)]^(T) is satisfied. Likewise, aMIMO precoding matrix V_(i) corresponding to each node can be configuredby dividing each row of the MIMO precoding matrix V into N_(i,1),N_(t,2), . . . , N_(t,N) rows, respectively.

That is, V=[V₁ ^(T) V₂ ^(T) . . . V_(N) ^(T)]^(T). Therefore, a Txvector x_(i) transmitted at each node and a MIMO precoding matrix V_(i)at each node can be expressed by Equation 6 below.x _(i) =V _(i) s, i=1, . . . , N  [Equation 6]

In a matrix V_(i) of Equation 6 above, all columns have zero vectorexcept for columns corresponding to streams allocated to an i^(th) node.

For example, it is assumed that, in any system consisting of two nodes,each having 4 transmit antennas, and 4 transmit streams (i.e.,N_(t,i)=N_(t,2)=4, N_(s)=4), streams 1 and 2 are mapped to a first nodeand streams 2, 3, and 4 are mapped to a second node. Third and fourthcolumns of a 4×4 precoding matrix V₁ applied to a node 1 have elementsof 0, and a first column of a 4×4 precoding matrix V₂ applied to a node2 has elements of 0.

Assume that {tilde over (V)}_(i) denotes a MIMO precoding matrix reducedto an N_(t,i)×N_(s,i) size by eliminating columns having a value 0 froma MIMO precoding matrix V_(i). Herein, N_(s,i) denotes the number ofstreams transmitted at the i^(th) node. In addition, assume that, in aTx stream matrix s, only streams transmitted at the node i are gatheredto express an N_(s,i)×1 vector s_(i) (in the example above, s₁=[s₁s₂]^(T), s₂=[s₂ s₃ s₄]^(T)).

In this case, x_(i) can be expressed by Equation 7 below.x _(i) ={tilde over (V)} _(i) s _(i) , i=1, . . . , N  [Equation 7]

If H_(i) denotes an N_(r)×N_(t,i) matrix corresponding to an i^(th) nodein an N_(r)×N_(t) channel matrix H for the UE (where N_(r) is the numberof receive (Rx) antennas of the UE), then an Rx signal y of the UE canbe expressed by Equation 8 below.

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{y = {{Hx} + z}} \\{= {{Hvs} + z}} \\{= {{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}{H_{i}x_{i}}} + z}} \\{= {{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}{H_{i}V_{i}s}} + z}} \\{= {{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}{H_{i}{\overset{\sim}{V}}_{i}s_{i}}} + z}}\end{matrix} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 8} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In Equation 8 above, z denotes a vector indicating an Rx noise andinterference. It is assumed that a channel has a frequency flatcharacteristic in a specific narrowband.

According to Equation 8, the Rx signal y of the UE can be expressed by asum of products of a channel matrix H_(i) for the UE and the node i, aMIMO precoding matrix {tilde over (V)}_(i), and a Tx stream vectors_(i). That is, the Rx signal of the UE can be expressed in a form of asum of signals received from respective nodes, and is affected by theMIMO precoding matrix {tilde over (V)}_(i).

By considering this, the MIMO precoder in the multi-node system canconstitute a MIMO precoding matrix by including a per-node power factor.That is, a MIMO precoding matrix V_(i) of a node i can be expressed byEquation 9 below.V _(i)=α_(i) {circumflex over (V)} _(i) , i=1, . . . , N  [Equation 9]

In Equation 9, α_(i) denotes a power factor at a node i. In Equation 9,{circumflex over (V)}_(i) is an N_(t,i)×N_(s) matrix. Equation 9 canalso be expressed by Equation 10 below.{tilde over (V)} _(i)=α_(i) V _(i) , i=1, . . . , N  [Equation 10]

In Equation 10, V _(i) is an N_(t,i)×N_(s,i) matrix. The matrix{circumflex over (V)}_(i) or V _(i) may be a MIMO precoding matrixdefined based on the conventional CAS or a default MIMO precoding matrixnewly defined in single node transmission.

The default MIMO precoding matrix in single node transmission uses atransmission method in which a power factor is fixed to 1. In this case,{circumflex over (V)}_(i) or V _(i) is characterized in that Tx power isnormalized. For example, if codebook-based precoding is applied,{circumflex over (V)}_(i) or V _(i) can be obtained from all normalizedcodebooks. In the normalized codebook, each element and each row orcolumn of a matrix and power of the matrix itself are fixed.

FIG. 8 shows a signalling process between a BS and a UE when a MIMOprecoding matrix includes a per-node power factor.

Referring to FIG. 8, the BS transmits a signal via a plurality of nodesby applying a first power factor (step S201). The first power factorcollectively indicates power factors for nodes allocated to the UE. Forexample, the BS can transmit a signal to the UE via a node 1 and a node2 by using the first power factor.

The UE measures a channel state for each of the plurality of nodes (stepS202). For example, the UE can measure a reference signal transmittedfrom each node. The reference signal can be identified by a node ID ofeach node. Alternatively, the UE can measure a carrier to interferenceand noise ratio (CINR) and a received signal strength indication (RSSI)transmitted from each node.

The UE feeds back power factor information to the BS on the basis of thechannel state measurement (step S203).

Herein, the power factor information implies a signal which requests theBS to control power for a specific node.

The power factor information can be implemented in various forms.

For example, the UE can request the power factor control by transmittinga per-node preferred power factor, of which the number of bits is fixed,to the BS together with information capable of identifying a node. Inthis case, a table in which a per-node power factor value ispredetermined according to a bit value thereof may exist between the BSand the UE. Then, the BS can recognize a power factor value based on abit value in the table. That is, the power factor value can be providedin an index form of the predetermined table. The table may be asfollows, for example.

TABLE 3 Feedback bit Power factor value (dB) 00 0 01 0.5 10 1 11 2

Referring to Table 3, the UE transmits a power factor value consistingof 2 bits to the BS together with node identification information. Withrespect to a node specified by the node identification information, ifthe bit value of 2 bits is ‘00’, ‘01’, ‘10’, or ‘11’, then the powerfactor can be determined respectively to ‘0’, ‘0.5’, ‘1’, or ‘2’.

Alternatively, the power factor information can be given in a form ofnode identification information (e.g., a node index) or a matrix index.Herein, the matrix index may be information indicating a matrix selectedin a codebook which is a set of matrices for specifying a predeterminedpower factor of each node.

Alternatively, the UE can feed back information on the power factor inan event-driven manner. For example, the UE can include a power controlfield and a node index (or a corresponding reference signal index) inthe information to be fed back. The power control field may consist ofone bit. The BS can decrease Tx power of a node indicated by the indexif a field value of the power control field is 1, and can increase theTx power of the node indicated by the node index if the field value ofthe power control field is 0 (the other way around is also possible).For example, the UE can feed back a power factor increase request for anode 1 if a channel state with respect to the node 1 is not good.Alternatively, the UE can feed back a power factor decrease request fora node 2 if a channel state with respect to the node 2 is good. Thepower factor increase or decrease request can be identified by a valueof the power control field.

Alternatively, when indicated, an increment value or decrement value ofthe power factor can be classified into several levels as shown in Table4 below.

TABLE 4 Power control field Power factor variation (dB) 0 0 1 −0.5 2+0.5 3 −1 4 +1

The BS transmits a signal via a plurality of nodes by applying a secondpower factor (step S204). The second power factor can be determinedbased on a preferred power factor transmitted by the UE. To determinethe second power factor, the BS can use one of the following twomethods.

First, the BS controls Tx power of nodes which transmit signals to theUE by using the second power factor, and thus can transmit a codeword byusing the same MCS. Since a path loss between each node and the UE isdifferent from each other in a multi-node system, link quality from eachnode may show a significant difference. As one method for dealing withthis situation, a different MCS is applied to each node. However, thismethod requires a CQI feedback for each codeword and control informationsignalling for an MCS, which results in a problem in that a signallingoverhead is increased. In addition, if a single MCS is applied in asituation in which a path loss is different, there is a problem in thatan MCS for a node having the worst channel state is applied to allnodes.

To solve this problem, link quality needs to be equalized for all nodes.For this, among nodes allocated to the UE or nodes selected by the UE,the BS can increase Tx power for nodes having a bad channel state(α_(i)>1), and can decrease Tx power for nodes having a good channelstate (α_(i)<1). Whether the channel state is good or bad can bedetermined according to a predetermined threshold. The first powerfactor and the second power factor are included in control informationtransmitted by the BS.

Second, in case of allowing transmission of a codeword by using adifferent MCS for each node, the BS can perform power allocation tomaximize link capacity. That is, among nodes allocated by the BS orselected by the UE, transmission itself is suspended for nodes having abad link state instead of performing transmission with a low transferrate by applying a lower MCS level (herein, α_(i)=0 is applied), whereasTx power is increased to apply a higher MCS level to a node having agood link state (herein, α_(i)>1 is applied). As well known in a MIMOcapacity theory, a water filling power control mechanism is used tomaximize capacity.

In the aforementioned method, eventually, the BS discriminates downlinkTx power for each node. The reason of discriminating the Tx power foreach node is to achieve the following two purposes.

1. To apply a codeword of the same MCS in a plurality of nodes.

2. To maximize link efficiency.

Hereinafter, a signalling process between a BS and a UE will bedescribed for a case where a multi-node system uses the signaltransmission system of FIG. 7.

Assume that N_(r) denotes the number of Rx antennas of the UE and N_(t)denotes the total number of Tx antennas of the multi-node system. Then,in an N_(r)×N_(t) channel matrix H, a channel between a node i and theUE can be expressed as an N_(r)×N_(t,i) matrix (denoted by H_(i)).Herein, N_(t,i) denotes the number of Tx antennas of the node i. Then,an Rx signal y of the UE can be expressed by Equation 10 below.

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{y = {{Hx} + z}} \\{= {{Hvs} + z}} \\{= {{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}{H_{i}x_{i}}} + z}} \\{= {{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}{H_{i}V_{i}s}} + z}} \\{= {{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}{H_{i}{\overset{\sim}{V}}_{i}s_{i}}} + z}}\end{matrix} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 10} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

If the multi-node system performs a MIMO operation according to theconventional CAS-based communication standard, signal transmission andMIMO precoding matrix selection are performed based on a PMI feedback ofa UE with respect to a MIMO precoding matrix V.

However, the number of Tx antennas in the multi-node system may be morevarious than a case of using the CAS. For example, assume that thenumber of Tx antennas of a node 1 is 4, the number of Tx antennas of anode 2 is 2, the number of streams mapped to the node 1 is 2, the numberof streams mapped to the node 2 is 1, and the maximum rank of theoverall multi-node system is 2. In this case, since the total number Ntof Tx antennas is 6 and the maximum rank is 2, a 6×2 MIMO precodingmatrix V is defined. To perform a codebook-based close-loop feedback, a6×2 codebook must be newly designed, and 1^(st) and 2^(nd) columns of5^(th) and 6^(th) rows of a MIMO precoding matrix in a codebook whichsatisfies the above example must be 0. This is because rank-1transmission is performed at the node 2. It is difficult to define acodebook which satisfies such various restrictions. In order to solvethis problem, a MIMO precoding matrix can be defined for each node. Thatis, the MIMO precoder can be applied by being defined for each node.

FIG. 9 shows a signalling process in a multi-node system according to anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, a BS transmits a reference signal via a pluralityof nodes (step S900). The reference signal can be transmitted accordingto a different reference signal configuration so as to be identifiablefor each node.

The BS transmits per-node transmission information to the UE (stepS910). For example, the BS may transmit not only an overall rank valueof the multi-node system but also a ‘per-node rank value’ by includingit in control information. That is, the BS can report to the UE a valueN_(s,i) which is the number of streams mapped to an i^(th) node, wherethe value N_(s,i) can be a rank value of the i^(th) node. In addition,the BS can transmit the control information by including the numberN_(t,i) of Tx antennas for each node and stream-node mappinginformation. The BS can report a Tx stream vector s_(i) of an i^(th)node from a Tx stream matrix s by using stream-node mapping information.

The UE uses a reference signal to estimate a channel with each node(i.e., estimate H_(i)), and generates feedback information (step S920).The feedback information may include a per-node precoding matrix index(PMI) and a per-node CQI.

The per-node PMI will be described first, and then the per-node CQI willbe described.

The UE can find a PMI for a corresponding node (e.g., a node i) from acodebook consisting of N_(t,i)×N_(s,i) MIMO precoding matrices. The UEcan use Equation 10 to find a MIMO precoding matrix V_(i) to be appliedto the node i. As such, the UE can find a PMI suitable for each nodeallocated to the UE.

The UE feeds back per-node feedback information (i.e., per-node PMI,per-node CQI) to the BS (step S930). Then, the BS can configure a MIMOprecoding matrix (i.e., a MIMO precoder) from the per-node feedbackinformation which is fed back by the UE.

Although it is described in the above example that the stream-nodemapping information is included in the per-node transmission informationtransmitted by the BS, the present invention is not limited thereto. Ifthe control information does not include the stream-node mappinginformation, the UE can find a per-node PMI set and feed back a part orentirety of it by assuming a variety of stream-node mapping. In thiscase, the UE can include a preferred stream-node mapping relation infeedback information.

Further, if the BS does not include a per-node rank value in the controlinformation, the UE feeds back a preferred per-node rank value byassuming various per-node rank values. In addition, the UE feeds back tothe BS a per-node PMI set for a rank value for each preferred node.

For example, if the BS determines an overall rank to 4 in a system inwhich a node 1 has 4 Tx antennas and a node 2 has 4 Tx antennas, the UEfinds a per-node PMI set for each combination by assuming variouscombinations by which four streams can be allocated to two nodes.Examples of nodes mapped to four streams in an orderly manner mayinclude {node 1, node 1, node 1, node 1}, {node 1, node 1, node 1, node2}, {node 1, node 1, node 2, node 2}, . . . , etc. Per-node PMI sets arefound for such various combinations, and a PMI set for each of some orall of the most preferred nodes is fed back.

In this case, the UE may allow feedback information to includestream-node mapping information, a per-node rank value, and an overallrank value. The overall rank value is included in the feedback inaddition to the per-cell rank value because a sum of per-node rankvalues becomes greater than the overall rank value when some of streamsare mapped to multiple nodes.

If preferred stream-node mapping information is configured in a form ofspecifying a stream mapped to a node, the per-node rank value and theoverall rank value can be omitted. For example, if preferred stream-nodemapping information is given in such a manner that a stream index mappedto a node 1 is {1, 2} and a stream index mapped to a node 2 is {2, 3,4}, a per-node rank value for the node 1, a per-node rank value for thenode 2, and an overall rank value are implicitly indicated as 2, 3, and4, respectively. Therefore, the per-node rank value and the overall rankvalue can be omitted.

A feedback of the per-node rank value can be regarded as an implicitindication of an index feedback for a node preferred by the UE.

The BS can perform dynamic node switching by using the per-node rankvalue fed back by the UE. The number of nodes preferred by the UE may beless than N instantaneously when the BS allocates a node set consistingof N nodes to the UE. In this case, if the UE sets a per-node rank valuefor a non-preferred node to 0 and feeds back it, the BS can change anode set for supporting the UE.

For example, assume that the BS allocates three nodes semi-statically tothe UE by using control information. The UE can feed back a per-noderank value for the three nodes.

If the per-node rank value for the three nodes is indicated as {1, 1,2}, {1, 2, 2}, etc., the UE can feed back, for example, {1,0,3}. Thisimplies information indicating that it is desirable for the UE tosupport a rank 1 for a first node and a rank 3 for a third node byexcluding a second node among three allocated nodes. The BS can performdynamic node switching on the basis of the per-node rank value fed backby the UE. Likewise, the BS can allow the per-node rank value to beincluded in control information, and can report node information whichchanges dynamically to the UE by setting a per-node rank value for aspecific node to 0.

Hereinafter, a feedback of channel quality information (CQI) of a UE ina multi-node system will be described.

In general, in a narrow sense, the CQI is information for reporting to aBS an MCS level that can be received with performance within apredetermined reception error rate. Alternatively, in a broad sense, theCQI is information for reporting to the BS a current channel state. TheCQI can be used by being classified into an average CQI, a differentialCQI, a wideband CQI, a subband CQI, etc. The UE measures CQI values forrespective codewords, and feeds back all or some of the values. However,multi-user (MU) MIMO transmission has an exception in that a CQI valuefor a preferred stream is measured and fed back together with preferredstream information (IEEE 802.16m open-loop MU-MIMO).

In the multi-node system according to the present invention, the UE canfeed back not only all CQI values for all Tx antennas but also per-nodeCQI information when feeding back CQI. The per-node CQI information isCQI information for each node, and implies CQI information for somestreams or some Tx antennas among all of the Tx antennas of themulti-node system.

The per-node CQI information must be included in feedback informationfor all nodes supporting the UE instantaneously when feeding back theper-node CQI information. This is because it is difficult to determinean MCS level for another node supporting the UE when using only per-nodeCQI information for some nodes supporting the UE. In particular, since apath loss is different for each node in the multi-node system, such acharacteristic is more apparent. The per-node CQI information can beused when the BS reports an MCS level applied to each node by usingdownlink control information.

If the multi-node system supports dynamic node switching or if aper-node CQI feedback period is relatively slow, a node configuration(or stream-node mapping) for a case where per-node CQI information isconfigured may be different from a node configuration (or stream-nodemapping) for a case of actual data transmission.

For example, assume that the BS allocates nodes 1, 3, and 4 to a UE 1,and the UE 1 feeds back per-node CQI information for these three nodes.The BS can transmit data by using only some nodes among the three nodeswhen actual data transmission is achieved for the UE 1 when a UE 2requests a data. That is, if a node for which the UE feeds back per-nodeCQI information differs from a node for which the BS transmits data at alater time, CQI information is mismatched.

Alternatively, there may be a situation in which the UE obtains andfeeds back per-node CQI information for a case where different onestream is mapped to each node, but some nodes transmit multiple streamsin actual data transmission. The mismatch of CQI information also occursin such a situation.

In order to avoid the occurrence of CQI mismatch, the UE can add a CQIcompensation value to a feedback. The CQI compensation value implies adifference between CQI values for a case where a transmission mode(i.e., the number of nodes for transmitting signals, stream-nodemapping) assumed when the UE feeds back CQI is different from a modewhich is set when the BS actually transmits data. For example, when theUE sends three CQI values for three nodes by assuming that the threenodes are allocated, a difference value indicating how much the CQIvalue changes can be transmitted together as the CQI compensation valuewhen only specific two nodes or one node participate in transmissionamong the three nodes.

Alternatively, per-node CQI information can be defined for a case whereonly a corresponding node participates in transmission. The CQIcompensation value can be defined as information indicating how much theper-node CQI information is changed due to an interference if anothernode also supports the UE together.

Since the CQI compensation value is obtained by assuming various cases,an overload of the UE may be increased. To solve this problem, the CQIcompensation value can be fed back with a relatively long period, i.e.,semi-statically. For example, the CQI compensation value can be fed backwith a period determined by using a radio resource control (RRC)message. In addition, the CQI compensation value can be fed back onlyfor several limited cases. For example, the CQI compensation value canbe limited to a CQI increment value for a case where the number of nodesis decreased by one node in comparison with a node configuration whenperforming a current CQI feedback.

In the multi-node system using the aforementioned signal transmissionsystems, the UE can estimate a channel matrix H_(i) (i=1, 2, . . . , N)by using a reference signal corresponding to each node. The UE uses thechannel matrix H_(i) to find and feed back an overall rank value, aper-node rank value, and a corresponding preferred per-node PMI.

In addition, in case of applying the per-node PMI, a per-node CQI valueis fed back by measuring a per-node MCS level applicable to each node.The CQI compensation value can be fed back together with the per-nodeCQI value.

In addition, the overall rank value and the per-node rank value can beincluded in control information transmitted from the BS to the UE. Inthis case, the UE may fix a parameter to the overall rank value and theper-node rank value transmitted from the BS, and thereafter may find andfeed back the remaining parameter values to be fed back.

When the aforementioned signal transmission systems are implemented in amulti-node system, various stream-node mappings can exist, which mayresult in an excessive increase in a feedback overhead of the UE. If thefeedback overhead exceeds a range supported by the UE or the multi-nodesystem, the following method can be used to decrease the feedbackoverhead.

1. The BS can designate stream-node mapping information by transmittingcontrol information including the stream-node mapping information.

2. A default stream-node mapping relation is defined by using apredetermined standard, and the UE feeds back a PMI by assuming thedefault stream-node mapping unless there is a special request of the BS.

Herein, the default stream-node mapping may be a mapping scheme in whichone stream is allocated to all nodes. That is, a default value of anoverall rank is equal to the total number of nodes, and a per-node rankvalue for each node is set to 1.

If there is no special request from the BS, the UE configures feedbackinformation by assuming that 1^(st), 2^(nd), . . . , N^(th) streams aremapped respectively to nodes 1, 2, . . . , N.

The per-node rank value is set to 1 because there is a high possibilitythat each node has significantly lower Tx power than the conventionalmacro cell tower in the multi-node system and thus there is a highpossibility that the number of Tx antennas in each node is not great. Inother words, a possibility that the per-node rank value is greater thanor equal to 2 is not great. In addition, there is a high possibilitythat a characteristic of a channel from each node installed at aphysically different location has a very low spatial correlation of achannel between the respective nodes, and thus there is a highpossibility that no problem occurs in transmission of independentstreams.

The UE can estimate a channel from each node and thereafter can find aper-node PMI for each node from a rank-1 codebook, that is, a codebookincluding N_(t,i)×1 vectors, and then can feed back the PMI. In thiscase, stream-node mapping information can be omitted from the feedbackinformation, and PMI and CQI feedback information can also be limited toa per-node PMI and per-node CQI when the number of nodes is equal to thenumber of allocated nodes, and thus a feedback overhead is not great.

In the aforementioned description of the present invention, a term‘node’ includes not only a physical node but also a logical node. Thelogical node implies a node which is recognized as a node from theviewpoint of the UE. The physical node and the logical node may berelated in a 1:1 manner, but the present invention is not limitedthereto. For example, if a plurality of physical nodes share onereference signal (pilot) pattern, a plurality of physical nodes whichshare the single signal (pilot) pattern may correspond to one logicalnode.

For example, in an LTE system, one CSI-RS pattern consists of 1, 2, 4,or 8 Tx antenna ports. In general, one CSI-RS pattern is transmittedfrom one physical node. However, if one CSI-RS pattern consisting of 8antenna ports is transmitted by being divided into two physical nodeseach of which has four Tx antennas, the UE recognizes the two physicalnodes as one physical node. In this case, the UE can perform a per-nodeCSI feedback from the viewpoint of a logical node, which implies thatthe UE recognizes the two physical nodes as one node, and performs oneCSI feedback for a system having 8 Tx antennas. Therefore, a per-nodePMI, a per-node CQI, a per-node rank, or the like described in thepresent invention may imply PMI, CQI, rank information, or the like foreach physical node, or may imply PMI, CQI, rank information, or the likefor each logical node.

In addition, from the viewpoint of the UE, a node (i.e. physical node orlogical node) is identified by a reference signal (pilot) having adifferent configuration. For example, in case of LTE-A, from theviewpoint of the UE, a logical node can be classified according to aCSI-RA having a different configuration. In this case, the per-nodefeedback information described in the present invention implies a PMI,CQI, and rank for each CSI-RS. In addition, per-node transmissioninformation transmitted by the BS to the UE implies configurationinformation for each CSI-RS.

FIG. 10 shows a signal transmission system according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, the signal transmission system includes acodeword-node mapper 601, codeword-stream mappers 602-1, . . . , 602-N,and MIMO precoders 603-1, . . . , 603-N.

The codeword-node mapper 601 maps all codewords to each node. That is,instead of first mapping a codeword to a stream and then mapping it toeach node, a codeword is mapped to a node. When the signal transmissionsystem is configured as shown in FIG. 10, codeword-node mappinginformation may be included in information fed back by a UE to a BS orcontrol information transmitted by the BS to the UE.

Mapping between a codeword and a node can be defined by default toallocate one codeword per node. In this case, signaling of codeword-nodemapping information may be necessary only when this definition is notsatisfied. Accordingly, a signaling overhead is decreased.

The codeword-node mapping information may include two fields, forexample, a message field A and a message field B. In this case, if themessage field A is 0, a codeword mapped to a node specified in themessage field B can be increased (in case of LTE-A, increased to 2), andif the message field A is 1, a codeword for a node set specified in themessage field B can be shared. The increasing of the codeword for thespecific node can be determined at the request of the UE or by thedecision of the BS if a quality difference becomes significant betweenstreams mapped to the node and thus it is not suitable to use the sameMCS. The sharing of the codeword for the specific node set can berequested by using a control message by the BS or by using a feedbackmessage of the UE when node sets have similar quality and thus it isintended to decrease a signaling overhead by distributing one codewordto a plurality of nodes.

In the conventional standard, up to two codewords are allocated to theUE. However, each node may have a different path loss in a multi-nodesystem. Therefore, performance can be maximized when a different MCS isapplied to each node. For this, the number of supportable codewords ispreferably equal to the maximum number of nodes that can be supported toone UE in the multi-node system. In this case, a codeword-node mappercan be utilized instead of the stream-node mapper.

The aforementioned method and apparatus can be implemented withhardware, software, or combination thereof. In hardware implementation,the present invention can be implemented with one of an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), aprogrammable logic device (PLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA),a processor, a controller, a microprocessor, other electronic units, andcombination thereof, which are designed to perform the aforementionedfunctions. In software implementation, the present invention can beimplemented with a module for performing the aforementioned functions.Software is storable in a memory unit and executed by the processor.Various means widely known to those skilled in the art can be used asthe memory unit or the processor.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details maybe made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, the scope of theinvention is defined not by the detailed description of the inventionbut by the appended claims, and all differences within the scope will beconstrued as being included in the present invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A signal transmission method of amulti-node system employing a plurality of nodes and a base station thatcan control each of the plurality of nodes, the method comprising:transmitting per-node transmission information to a user equipment;transmitting at least one stream to the user equipment by applying aprecoding matrix determined for each node in at least one node among theplurality of nodes; and receiving per-node feedback information from theuser equipment, wherein the per-node transmission information includesrank information of the node which transmits the at least one stream,wherein the rank information includes an overall rank value and aper-node rank value, wherein the default value of the overall rank isequal to a total number of the plurality of nodes, and a default valueof the per-node rank for each node is 1, wherein the per-node feedbackinformation includes information on a precoding matrix applicable to anode which transmits the at least one stream, wherein the per-nodefeedback information further includes rank information for each nodepreferred by the user equipment, a per-node channel quality indictor(COI), and a CQI compensation value, and wherein the CQI compensationvalue indicates a CQI difference when there is a change in the at leastone node.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the per-node transmissioninformation further includes the number of transmit antennas of the nodewhich transmits the at least one stream, and mapping information betweenthe at least one stream and the at least one node.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein information on the precoding matrix includes an indexindicating a matrix included in a predetermined codebook.
 4. The methodof claim 3, wherein, in matrices included in the codebook, the number ofrows or columns is equal to a rank of the node which transmits the atleast one stream, and the number of columns or rows corresponding to therows or columns is equal to the number of transmit antennas of the nodewhich transmits the at least one stream.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the per-node CQI indicates a modulation and coding scheme foreach of the at least one node.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the CQIcompensation value is transmitted with a predetermined period.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting at least one streamto the user equipment by applying the precoding matrix determined basedon the per-node feedback information in the at least one node.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein each of the at least one node transmits onlyone stream.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the per-node feedbackinformation is received by all of the plurality of nodes supporting theuser equipment instantaneously when feeding back the per-nodeinformation.
 10. A signal transmission method of a user equipment inmulti-node system employing a plurality of nodes and a base station thatcan control each of the plurality of nodes, the method comprising:receiving per-node transmission information; receiving at least onestream to which a precoding matrix, which is determined for each node,is applied in at least one node among the plurality of nodes; andtransmitting per-node feedback information, wherein the per-nodetransmission information includes rank information of the node whichtransmits the at least one stream, wherein the rank information includesan overall rank value and a per-node rank value, wherein the per-nodefeedback information includes information on a precoding matrixapplicable to a node which transmits the at least one stream, whereinthe per-node feedback information further includes rank information foreach node preferred by the user equipment, a per-node channel qualityindictor (CQI), and a CQI compensation value, and wherein the CQIcompensation value indicates a CQI difference when there is a change inthe at least one node.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the per-nodetransmission information further includes the number of transmitantennas of the node which transmits the at least one stream, andmapping information between the at least one stream and the at least onenode.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein information on the precodingmatrix includes an index indicating a matrix included in a predeterminedcodebook.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein, in matrices included inthe codebook, the number of rows is equal to a rank of the node whichtransmits the at least one stream, and the number of columns is equal tothe number of transmit antennas of the node which transmits the at leastone stream.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein the per-node CQIindicates a modulation and coding scheme for each of the at least onenode.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein the CQI compensation value istransmitted with a predetermined period.